In order to enable inter- or cross-connection between telecommunications equipment, telecommunications connections often use patch panels to which a plurality of jacks may be mounted to allow rapid connection and disconnection between two jacks in the same patch panel or in adjacent patch panels. Electrical cables terminated by plug-type connectors are typically inserted into the jacks and it is sometimes desirable to provide electrical coupling connectors that enable two plugs, and accordingly two cables, to be connected in electrically conducting relation to one another. For this purpose, such connectors comprise a housing with a pair of plug-receiving openings at each end thereof.
Such prior art connector designs however do not prove flexible as each one of a pair of cables is inserted into a given connector along a line of insertion which is at a fixed angle (e.g. collinear for a back-to-back configuration) relative to the other and it is therefore not possible to vary such an angle if desired to make cabling installation faster and more efficient. Also, the connector is typically limited to a specific length which cannot for example be adjusted if it is desired to increase the physical distance between coupled cables. Such designs also typically increase the complexity of cable termination in addition to providing limited functionality.
In addition, a major drawback of prior art designs is that they fail to meet signal transmission performance requirements, especially when high frequencies are involved. In particular, as new cable standards are introduced, more stringent specifications for alien crosstalk and system noise are featured. For instance, the latest Category 6a (or Augmented Category 6) standard defined in February 2008 provides performance at frequencies up to 550 MHz, or twice that of Category 6. It then becomes critical for telecommunications connections and connectors in particular to meet such enhanced performance standards, which conventional designs currently have difficulty achieving.
What is therefore needed, and an object of the present invention, is an improved connector, which allows for flexibility in the design of the connector as well as fast and efficient installation while reducing the complexity of termination and maximizing performance.